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Japan Events in History



2013 Event - The U.S. military used B-52 bombers in joint military drills with South Korea; in response, North Korea threatens to attack America's military bases in Japan

2013 Event - According to a report released by the U.S. Treasury Department, in June 2012 Japan surpassed China as the leading foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities

2013 Event - In a speech directed at Japan's Self-Defense Forces, the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, vows to defend the Senkaku Islands

2013 Event - In efforts to turn its back on nuclear power, Japan announces plans to build the world's largest offshore wind farm in the Fukushima Prefecture, near the site of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

2012 Event - At 115 years old and 266 days, Jiroemon Kimura of Japan becomes the world's oldest living person

2012 Event - Japan holds it's general election, with Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister and opposition Liberal Democratic Party leader, predicted as winner

2012 Event - Amid tension with China, Keen Sword, the biennial naval training exercise between the United States and Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, takes place off the shore of Okinawa

2012 Event - Japan appoints its new finance minister, Koriki Jojima, and Seiji Maehara as its new minister of national strategy and economic policy

2012 Event - Chinese bookstore suspend the sale of books by or about Japan, and all books by Japanese authors

2012 Event - Vice foreign minister to Japan, Chikao Kawai, is sent to China to help improve the status of relations between the two countries

2012 Event - A leadership ballot held by the Democratic Party of Japan is won by Japan's Prime Minster, Yoshihiko Noda

2012 Event - Japan wins their third title in the 2012 Women's Baseball World Cup

2012 Event - In an apparent effort to keep his contract, a subcontractor at Japan's defunct Fukushima's nuclear power plant shielded dosimeters with lead plates to ensure they did not reach radiation limits, and workers to lie about possible high radiation exposure

2012 Event - Astronauts, Sunita Williams of the United States, Yuri Malenchenko of Russia and Aki Hoshide of Japan, arrive at the International Space Station for a three-month long mission

2012 Event - Japan mourns the loss of a 6-day old rare giant panda, born naturally in captivity at a Tokyo zoo

2012 Event - South Korea announces that it plans to sign a pact with Japan that encourages the sharing of sensitive military intelligence

2012 Event - The last nuclear reactor in Japan is shut down, leaving the country without nuclear power since 1970

2012 Event - Japan's car sales soar significantly after last year's earthquake and tsunami, coming in at a 92% rise year-over-year

2012 Event - Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, the Cabinet of Japan approves a bill placing a 40-year cap on the life of nuclear reactors

2011 Event - Japan's Government apologizes to Canada for the treatment of its POWs during World War II

2011 Event - The exchange rate of the Japanese yen with the U.S. dollar is reduced by the Government of Japan after the yen reached record highs

2011 Event - Japan's government announces they require a $157 billion additional budged to cover costs for recovering from the tsunami and earthquake in March 2011

2011 Event - Japan asks South Korea to refute a plan to build a Korean World War II 'comfort women' monument near Seoul's Japanese embassy

2011 Event - A 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurs off the coast of Japan, setting off a series of aftershocks

2011 Event - The National Diet of Japan, Japan's bicameral legislature, approves Yoshihiko Noda as its new Prime Minister

2011 Event - Japan's National Police Agency discloses that 90% of cyberattacks on its web site came from IP addresses in the People's Republic of China

2011 Event - With weak economic prospects and significant levels of public debt, Japan is downgraded to Aa3 by Moody's credit rating agency

2011 Event - Typhoon Muifa approaches Japan's island of Okinawa; the typhoon is expected to be one of the most powerful storms to hit China in recent years

2011 Event - Japan's Iwate prefecture experiences a 6.7 magnitude earthquake

2011 Event - In efforts to fund rising social security costs, the Government of Japan plans to double its sales tax over four years

2011 Event - Japan's economy officially enters a recession, partially due to financial strain caused by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

2011 Event - The Tokyo Electric Power Company together with the Government of Japan will not cap compensation payments resulting from the Fukushima I nuclear accidents

2011 Event - In a Schrodinger's cat experiment, researchers in Japan and Australia successfully teleport wave packets of light; this is the first transfer of quantum information from one point to another

2011 Event - Following the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster, Japan raises the crisis level to 7, equal to the disaster in Chernobyl

2011 Event - One month after the Tohoku earthquake shook Japan, a 6.6 magnitude aftershock hit Japan, lasting nearly an hour

2011 Event - Japan's Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, visits areas devastated by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

2011 Event - In Tokyo, anti-nuclear activists rally, demanding change in Japan's nuclear industry

2011 Event - Newspapers report that Japan will issue over 10 trillion yen in emergency government bonds to help pay for their earthquake and tsunami recovery efforts

2011 Event - Over 200,000 people are evacuated from Japan as fear of nuclear contamination from the power plants grows

2011 Event - Japan estimates over 46,000 structures were damaged in the 9.0 magnitude earthquake

2011 Event - Following the earthquake and tsunami, Japan deploys 50,000 Self-Defense Forces personnel in search and rescue efforts

2011 Event - Sendai, a major 9.0 earthquake strikes offshore of Japan's Miyagi Prefecture; 10-meter high tsunami's are produced near its epicenter, reaching land through the Pacific ocean

2011 Event - Japan's Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant suffers a radiation leak after the earthquake; thousands of nearby residents are evacuated

2011 Event - A 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Honshu, Japan prompts the release of tsunami alert

2011 Event - Under pressure from conservationists and diplomats, Japan's whaling fleet leaves the Antarctic

2011 Event - Japan experiences its fifth outbreak of bird flu, forcing the slaughter of 150,000 chickens

2011 Event - Australia and Japan win their semi-final games and will play in the AFC Asian Cup final

2011 Event - All bullet trains in northern and central Japan were temporarily halted due a computer glitch; thousands of passengers are affected

2010 Event - Qantas, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Air France and seven other carriers were fined millions of euros for fixing the price of air cargo between 1999 and 2006

2010 Event - Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russia, visits the Kuril Islands, the subject of a dispute with Japan

2010 Event - Eastern Japan braces itself as Typhoon Chaba heads its way, carrying winds of up to 162 kilometers per hour near its center

2010 Event - Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission and the Tokyo Stock Exchange conduct an insider trading investigation of Japanese companies

2010 Event - In a dispute over the use of rare earth metals, China cancels a meeting with Japan and South Korea

2010 Event - Japan's government approves a $60 billion economic stimulus package

2010 Event - South Korea states that North Korea fired over 100 rounds of artillery into the Sea of Japan, signaling tension along the Korean Peninsula

2010 Event - Japan's Mayor Tomihisa Taue appeals to eliminate nuclear weapons at the 65th anniversary commemoration of the 1945 bombing of Nagasaki

2010 Event - South Korea develops a long-range cruise missile reportedly capable of striking North Korea, Japan, Russia and China

2010 Event - No reports of damage or casualties are reported after a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits central Japan

2008 Event - Taro Aso becomes the new Prime Minister of Japan

2007 Event - Earthquake in Japan damages nuclear power plan releasing 300 gallons of radioactive water

2007 Death - Kiichi Miyazawa, dies in Tokyo, Japan, of natural causes, at 87

2006 Event - Japan elects Shinzo Abe as new Prime Minister of Japan

2005 Event - Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan suffers a 5.8 magnitude earthquake

2005 Event - Magnitude 7 earthquake strikes west of Kyushu Island, Japan

2003 Death - Maki Ishii, composer, contemporary classical music, dies of thyroid cancer in Kashiwa, Japan, at age 66

2000 Event - After years of preparation for Y2K, only minor computer-related problems were reported (a problem with Hotmail, with a nuclear power plant in Japan and with apartment heating in Korea)

1998 Event - Japan Golf Classic

1998 Event - 18th Winter Olympic games close at Nagano Japan

1998 Event - U.S. hockey team destroys their rooms at Olympic village in Japan

1998 Event - 18th Winter Olympic games open at Nagano Japan

1997 Event - Liselotte Neumann wins LPGA Toray Japan Queens Cup

1997 Event - Toray Japan Queens Cup

1997 Event - Toray Japan Queens LPGA Cup

1997 Event - USA beats Japan 23-13 at LPGA Nichirei International

1997 Event - Japan's maglev train breaks world speed record at 280.3 mph

1997 Event - Vancouver Canucks beats Mighty Ducks, 3-2 in Japan

1997 Event - Cartoon Channel premieres in Japan

1997 Event - Rocker Rick Danko gets suspended sentence in Japan for drug smuggling

1997 Event - America On Line, begins service in Japan

1997 Event - NHL announce Might Ducks and Vancouver Canucks to open 1998 in Japan

1996 Event - Mayumi Hirase wins LPGA Toray Japan Queens Cup

1996 Event - Toray Japan Queens Cup

1996 Event - U.S. beats Japan, 21 -14, at Nichirei International Golf Tournament

1996 Event - Nintendo 64 video game system debuts in USA (3 months after Japan)

1996 Event - Nintendo 64 goes on sale in Japan

1996 Death - Shin Kanemaru, Vice President of Japan (1986-87), dies at 81

1995 Event - Woo-Soon Ko wins LPGA Toray Japan Queens Cup Golf Tournament

1995 Event - U.S. beats Japan, 19-17, at Nichirei International LPGA Golf Tournament

1995 Event - Japan's Shinshinto Party wins local elections

1995 Event - 7.2 earthquake destroys Kobe Japan killing 5,372 die

1995 Event - Major earthquake kills 5,092 in Kobe Japan

1994 Event - Woo-Soon Ko wins LPGA Toray Japan Queens Golf Cup

1994 Event - 102.4 degrees F (39.1 degrees C) in Tokyo Japan: record

1994 Event - Socialist, Tomiichi Murayama, elected premier of Japan

1994 Event - Taiwan Airbus A-300 crashes at Nagoya Japan, 262 killed

1994 Event - Tsutomu Hata elected premier of Japan

1994 Event - Ice Dance Championship at Chiba Japan won by Gritschuk and Platov (RUS)

1994 Event - Yuka Sato of Japan wins world figure skating championship in Tokyo

1994 Event - Largest omelet (1,383 ft) made with 160,000 eggs in Yokohama Japan

1993 Death - W Edwards Deming, U.S. economist (helped Japan after WW II), dies at 93

1993 Death - Kakuei Tanaka, premier of Japan (1972-74), dies at 75

1993 Death - Kakuei Tanaka, Prime Minister of Japan 1972 - 1974, dies

1993 Event - Betsy King wins LPGA Toray Japan Queens Cup Golf Tournament

1993 Event - Japan Hosokawa government begins

1993 Event - Liberal-Democratic Party loses Japan's parliamentary election

1993 Event - 7.8 earthquake hits Hokkaido Japan, 160 killed

1993 Event - 7.5 earthquake strikes northern Japan, 2 die

1992 Event - Betsy King wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1992 Event - Battleship USS Missouri, on which, Japan surrendered, decommissioned

1992 Event - Stan Hansen beats Jumbo Tsuruta to win All Japan Triple Crown

1991 Event - Liselotte Neumann wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1991 Event - Kiichi Miyazawa elected premier of Japan

1991 Event - Mount Unzen erupts in Japan, worst eruption in Japanese history

1991 Death - Harry Glicken, volcanologist, killed by Mount Unzen Volcano in Japan

1991 Event - 42 die in a train collision is Japan

1991 Death - Shintaro Abe, minister of Exterior of Japan (1982-86), dies

1991 Event - Largest wrestling crowd in Japan (64,500) at Tokyo Dome

1991 Event - Jumbo Tsuruta beats Stan Hansen to win All Japan Triple Crown title

1991 Event - Japan ends routine fingerprinting of all adult ethnic Koreans

1990 Death - Nistani Keiji, philosopher, dies in Kyoto Japan

1990 Event - Debbie Massey wins LPGA Mazda Japan 133 Golf Classic

1990 Death - Brigitte D'Ortschy, Zen teacher Sanbo Kyodan line, dies in Japan at 69

1990 Event - CUNY/Lehman College, Bronx, opens a branch campus in Hiroshma Japan

1990 Event - Jushin "Thunder" Liger beats Naoki Sano to become New Japan IWGP champ

1990 Event - Mitsuko Nishiwaki beats Nakano to become Japan Women wrestling champ

1989 Event - Elaine Crosby wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1989 Event - 27th Tennis Fed Cup: USA beats Spain in Tokyo Japan (3-0)

1989 Event - Worlds Ladies Figure Skating Champ in Paris won by Midori Ito (Japan)

1989 Event - Akhito becomes emperor of Japan

1989 Death - Hirohito, Japan's emperor (1922-89), dies at 87 after 62-year reign

1988 Event - Japan beats MLB All-Star team 5-4 in Tokyo (Game 6 of 7)

1988 Event - MLB All-Star team beats Japan 3-1 in Tokyo (Game 5 of 7)

1988 Event - MLB All-Star team beat Japan 8-2 in Nishinomya, (Game 4 of 7)

1988 Event - MLB all stars beats Japan 16-8 (Game 3 of 7)

1988 Event - Japan and MLB all stars played to a 6-6 draw (Game 2 of 7)

1988 Event - Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1988 Event - Japan beats MLB all stars 2-1 in Tokyo (Game 1 of 7)

1988 Event - "Les Miserables," opens at Chunichi Theatre, Nagoya Japan

1987 Event - Yuko Moriguchi wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1987 Event - Donald Trump takes out a full page New York Times ad lambasting Japan

1987 Death - Nobusuke Kishi, premier of Japan (1957-60), dies at 90

1987 Event - Japan's premier Nakasone visits the U.S.

1987 Event - 91st Boston Marathon won by Toshihiko Seko of Japan in 2:11:50

1987 Event - Japan 1st exceeds military spending cap of 1% of GNP ($23 billion)

1986 Event - Ai-Yu Tu wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1986 Event - Premier Nakasones Liberal Democr Party wins Japan's election

1985 Event - Jane Blalock wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1985 Event - Japan launches its 2nd probe of Halley's Comet, Suisei

1985 Event - Japan launches Planet A, a probe to Halley's comet

1985 Event - 23rd Tennis Fed Cup: Czechoslovakia beats USA in Nagoya Japan (2-1)

1985 Event - Japan launches Sakigake space probe to Halley's Comet

1984 Event - Nayoko Yoshikawa wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1984 Event - Japan beats U.S. for olympic gold medal in baseball

1984 Event - Soviet sub crashes into USS aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk off Japan

1983 Event - Pat Bradley wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1983 Event - President Reagan became 1st U.S. President to address Japan's legislature

1983 Event - Japan launches Tenma satellite to study x-rays (450/570 km)

1982 Event - Yasuhiro Nakasone elected Prime Minister of Japan succeeding Zenko Suzuki

1982 Event - Yasuhiro Nakasone succeeds Zenko Suzuki as premier of Japan

1982 Event - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1981 Event - Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1981 Event - 85th Boston Marathon won by Toshihiko Seko of Japan in 2:09:26

1981 Event - Japan launches Hinotori satellite to study solar flares (580/640 k)

1980 Event - Tatsuko Ohsako wins LPGA Mazda Japan Golf Classic

1980 Event - Zenko Suzuki becomes premier of Japan

1980 Birthday - Kasumi Takahashi, Tokyo, Japan, Australian rhythmic gymnast 1996 Olympics

1980 Event - Soviet sub catches fire off Japan, 9 die

1979 Event - Amy Alcott wins LPGA Mizuno Japan Golf Classic

1979 Event - Japan launches Hakucho x-ray satellite and Corsa-B (550/580 km)

1979 Event - 22.2-km Oshimizu railroad tunnel holed through, central Honshu, Japan

1978 Event - China and Japan formally ends 4 decades of dissension

1978 Event - China and Japan sign peace treaty

1978 Birthday - Kyoko Iwosoki, born in Japan, 100m breaststroke swimmer, Gold Medals 1992, 1996 Olympics

1977 Event - Japan's Sadaharu Oh hits 756th home run to surpass Hank Aaron's total

1976 Event - Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA/Japan Mizuno Golf

1976 Event - Russian pilot Belenko defects to Japan in a Mig 25 jet

1975 Event - Shelley Hamlin wins LPGA Japan Golf Classic

1975 Event - Emperor Hirohito of Japan visits San Francisco

1975 Birthday - Tsutsumi Otomo, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1975 Birthday - Ai Sugiyama, born in Tokyo, Japan, tennis star

1975 Death - Eisaku Sato, premier of Japan (1964-71 Nobel 1974), dies at 74

1975 Birthday - Christopher Yule, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1974 Event - Chako Higuchi wins Japan LPGA Golf Classic

1974 Birthday - Shin Yahata, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1974 Birthday - Kyoko Nagatsuka, Shizuoka Prefecture Japan, tennis star, 1996 Hobart

1973 Birthday - Hiroyuki Miura, hockey defenseman, Team Japan 1998

1973 Birthday - Bill Clay, Yokosuka Japan, U.S. sprint cyclist 1996 Olympics

1973 Event - Fire at Taiyo department store, kills 101 and injures 84 (Kumamoto Japan)

1973 Birthday - Ichiro Suzuki, born in Kasugai, Japan, professional baseball player, outfielder, played for the Seattle Mariners and Orix BlueWave

1973 Event - 1st heavyweight championship fight in Japan (Foreman beats Roman)

1973 Birthday - Yutaka Kawaguchi, hockey defenseman, Team Japan 1998

1973 Event - Japan allows its citizens to own gold

1973 Birthday - Naoko Sawamatsu, born in Nishinomiya, Japan, tennis star, 1994 Singapore

1973 Birthday - Tatsuki Katayama, hockey defenseman, Team Japan 1998

1972 Birthday - Kyoko Ina, Tokyo, Japan, figure skater, 1993 North Atlantic Sr champ

1972 Event - Japan and People's Republic of China begin diplomatic relations

1972 Event - Japan and Communist China agree to re-establish diplomatic relations

1972 Birthday - Shinjiro Otani, born in Yamaguchi City, Japan, professional wrestler, WCW World Cruiserweight Champion, created Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE with Shinya Hashimoto, acting president of ZERO1

1972 Birthday - Ryan Fujita, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1972 Event - Ryukyu Is and Daito Is returned to Japan after 27 years of U.S. control

1972 Event - 115 die in nightclub atop 7-story Sennichi department store (Osaka Japan)

1972 Birthday - Kunihiko Sakurai, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1972 Birthday - Naoko Kijimuta, born in Yokohama Kanagawa, Japan, tennis star, 1996 Jakarta

1972 Birthday - Ryan Kuwabara, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1972 Event - 19 mountain climbers killed on Japan's Mount Fuji during an avalanche

1972 Event - 11th Winter Olympic games close at Sapporo, Japan

1972 Event - 11th Winter Olympic games opens in Sapporo, Japan (1st in Asia)

1971 Birthday - Rika Hiraki, Beirut Lebanon, tennis star, 1992 Japan doubles

1971 Birthday - Yone Kamio, Yokohama Japan, tennis star, 1995 semi-finalist Hobart

1971 Event - Man-made earthslide at Kawasaki Japan, kills 15

1971 Birthday - Midori, born in Osaka, Japan, violinist, prodigy, studied at Julliard, plays the 1734 Buarnerius del Gesu violin

1971 Birthday - Makoto Kawahira, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1971 Event - U.S. and Japan sign accord to return Okinawa to Japan

1971 Birthday - Hiroyoshi Tenzan, born in Kyoto, Tokyo, professional wrestler, born Hiroyoshi Yamamoto, ring name Hiroyoshi Tenzan, works for New Japan Pro Wrestling

1971 Birthday - Osamu Nishimura, born in Tokyo, Japan, professional wrestler, New Japan Pro Wrestling

1971 Birthday - Jiro Nihei, hockey goaltender, Team Japan 1998

1971 Birthday - Mana Endo, Hiroshima Japan, tennis star, 1996 3rd round Australia Open

1971 Birthday - Takeshi Yamanaka, hockey defenseman, Team Japan 1998

1971 Event - John Lennon meets Yoko Ono's parents in Japan

1970 Birthday - Kimiko Date, Kyoto Japan, tennis star, 1996 Japan Open

1970 Birthday - Satoshi Kojima, professional wrestler, born in Koto, Japan, works for New Japan Pro Wrestling, trained by Hiroshi Hase, Kensuke Sasaki

1970 Birthday - Dusty Imoo, hockey goaltender, Team Japan 1998

1970 Event - Yuchiro Miura of Japan skies down Mount Everest

1970 Event - Expo '70 opens in Osaka, Japan

1970 Event - Japan becomes 4th nation to put a satellite, Osumi, in orbit

1969 Birthday - Takako Inque, Toride Japan, wrestler, Japan

1969 Birthday - Mayumi Hirase, Kumamoto Japan, LPGA golfer, Japan Jr-1985, 86, 87

1969 Birthday - Cuty [Yumi] Suzuki, Kawaguchi Japan, wrestler, Japan

1969 Birthday - Midori Ito, born in Tokyo, Japan, ice skater, Silver Medal 1992 Olympics

1969 Event - 73rd Boston Marathon won by Yoshiaki Unetani of Japan in 2:13:49

1969 Birthday - Takayuki Kobori, hockey defenseman, Team Japan 1998

1968 Birthday - Hideo Nomo, born in Osaka, Japan, pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers

1968 Birthday - Shinichi Iwasaki, hockey goaltender, Team Japan 1998

1968 Event - Iwo Jima and Bonin Islands returned to Japan by US

1968 Event - Earthquake kills 47 in Japan

1968 Birthday - Hiroshi Matsuura, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1968 Event - Japanese Trade and Cultural Center (Japan Center) dedicated in San Francisco

1968 Birthday - Akira Nogami, born in Narashino, Chiba, professional Japanese wrestler, actor, wrestled for the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, NJPW, in 1991, reigned as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, in 2000, appeared in television show, Kamen Rider Kuuga, competed part-time after 2004, regularly wrestling with Keiji Mutoh's All Japan Pro Wrestling

1968 Event - Spy ship USS Pueblo and 83-man crew seized in Sea of Japan by N Korea

1967 Birthday - Shuzo Matsuoka, Tokyo, Japan, tennis star, 1995 USTA/Binghampton

1967 Birthday - Akihito Sugisawa, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1967 Birthday - Takayuki Miura, hockey defenseman, Team Japan 1998

1967 Birthday - Manabu Nakanishi, born in Kyoto, Japan, professional wrestler, former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, wrestler for New Japan Pro Wrestling, competed in 1992 Summer Olympics

1966 Event - Dodgers complete an 18-game tour of Japan with a 9-8-1 record

1966 Birthday - El Samurai, born in Hanamaki, Japan, professional wrestler, works for New Japan Pro Wrestling, trained by New Japan Dojo

1966 Birthday - Takayuki Iizuka, born in Muroran, Hokkaido, Japanese professional wrestler, trained by New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo

1966 Death - D T Suzuki, Zen Buddhism scholar, dies in Tokyo, Japan at 96

1966 Event - 70th Boston Marathon won by Kenji Kimihara of Japan in 2:17:11

1966 Birthday - Jose Maria Olazabal, born in Fuenterrabia, Gipuzkoa, Basque country, Spain, professional golfer, 6 PGA Tour wins, 23 European Tour wins, 2 Japan Golf Tour wins

1966 Event - All-Nippon Airways 727 crashes off Haneda Airport (Japan); kills 133

1965 Birthday - Brent Franklin, Barrie Ont, Canadian Tour golfer, 1992 Japan Open-2nd

1965 Birthday - Matt Kabayama, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1965 Birthday - Troy Neel, born in Freeport, Texas, professional baseball player, first baseman, hitter, played for Oakland Athletics, Orix BlueWave team in Japan

1965 Birthday - Yugi Iga, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1965 Birthday - Shinya Hashimoto, born in Toki Gity, Japan, professional wrestler, competed in New Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid 1980s and 1990s, nicknamed one of the 'Three Musketeers'

1965 Event - coal mine explosion in Fukuoka Japan kills 236

1965 Event - 69th Boston Marathon won by Morio Shigematsu of Japan in 2:16:33

1965 Birthday - Soichi Noguchi, born in Yokohama, Japan, astronaut

1965 Event - U.S. - Japan baseball relations suspended over Masanori Murakami dispute

1965 Birthday - Atsuo Kudo, hockey defenseman, Team Japan 1998

1964 Event - Eisaku Sato becomes premier of Japan

1964 Death - Reginald Horace Blyth, Zen teacher/scholar, dies in Japan at 66

1964 Event - 18th Olympic games close at Tokyo, Japan

1964 Birthday - Etsuko Inoue, born in Japan, professional tennis player, first to win women's tennis competition at the Asian Games, 1982

1964 Birthday - Toshiyuki Sakai, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1964 Event - Netherlands last whaling ship Willem Barents Sea sold to Japan

1964 Event - Quake strikes Niigata Japan

1964 Event - Japan joins OECO

1963 Event - Train crash in Japan, kills 164

1963 Event - 450 die in a coal-dust explosion and 160 die in train crash (Japan)

1963 Birthday - Masahiro Chono, born in Seattle, Washington, professional wrestler, works for New Japan Pro Wrestling, trained by Stu Hart, Lou Thesz

1963 Birthday - Thomas Ansberry, Okinawa Japan, U.S. 10K runner

1963 Birthday - Koichi Wakata, Omiya Saitama Japan, astronaut, STS-72, sk: 92

1963 Birthday - Hiromi Kobayashi, Fukushima Japan, LPGA golfer, 1993 JAL Big Apple

1962 Birthday - Keiji Muto, born in Fujiyoshida, Japan, professional wrestler, trained by Hiro Matsuda, appeared on World Championship Wrestling television editions, ring name, The Great Mota

1962 Event - Larry Doby, retires from Cleveland Indians to play in Japan

1962 Event - Express train crashed into wreckage of a commuter train and a freight, killing 163, injuring 400 (Tokyo, Japan)

1962 Birthday - Steve Tsujiura, hockey forward, Team Japan 1998

1961 Birthday - Hiro Hase, born in Oyabe, Japan, professional wrestler, worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling, transitioned to position of chairman for the PWF, in the Japanese parliament

1961 Event - Mine cave-in in Japan, kills 72

1960 Event - Premier Kishi of Japan, resigns

1960 Event - Japan signs security treaty with the U.S.

1960 Birthday - Crown Prince Naruhito, heir apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne of Japan, eldest son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko

1960 Event - U.S. and Japan sign joint defense treaty

1959 Birthday - Ken Watanabe, born in Koide, Japan, actor, Academy-Award nominee, appeared in films, 'Letters from Iwo Jima', 'The Last Samurai'

1959 Event - Japan hit by typhoon Vera; about 5,000 die

1959 Event - Typhoon kills 2,000 in Japan and Korea

1959 Event - Shunryu Suzuki completes his historical Japan to San Francisco voyage

1959 Event - Japan's Crown Prince Akihito marries commoner Michiko Shoda

1958 Birthday - Yoshinori Mizumaki, Tokyo, Japan, PGA golfer, 1994 Byron Nelson-2nd

1958 Birthday - Mick Karn, born in Nicosia, Cypress, rocker, instrumentalist, musician, songwriter, bassist for art rock band Japan

1958 Birthday - Elaine Crosby, born in Birmingham, Michigan, LPGA golfer, 1989 Mazda Japan Classic

1956 Event - Japan admitted to UN

1956 Birthday - Yoshiko Sakakibara, Chiba Japan, actress, Sailor Moon, Vampire Hunter

1956 Birthday - Joe [Naomichi] Ozaki, Tekushima, Japan, golfer, 1995 Phoenix Open-8th

1955 Event - Yankees begin 16-game exhibition in Japan

1955 Birthday - Norio Honaga, born in Japan, athlete, professional wrestler, junior heavyweight three-time, New Japan Pro Wrestling Champion in IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, retired and became referee in 1988

1955 Birthday - Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, born in Hokkaido, Japan, sumo wrestler, 58th yokozuna, greatest, highest ranked sumo in recent times, won 31 tournament championships, coming in second to Taiho, noted as lightest yokozuna since Tochinoumi in the 1960's, head coach for Kokonoe stable

1955 Event - 59th Boston Marathon won by Hideo Hamamura of Japan in 2:18:22

1955 Event - I Hatojama recognized as premier of Japan

1954 Event - U.S. spy plane shot down North of Japan

1954 Event - Typhoon hits Japan - 5 ferryboats sink killing about 1,600

1954 Birthday - Takao Doi, Tokyo, Japan, astronaut, STS-87

1953 Event - Earthquake/tsnunami strike Honshu Japan

1953 Event - Giants end their tour of Japan (players got $331 of $3,000 promised)

1953 Event - Typhoon destroys 1/3 of Nagoya Japan

1953 Birthday - Kengo Kimura, born in Niihama, Japan, professional wrestler, worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling, trained by Antonio Inoki

1953 Event - Braves Phil Paine is 1st former major leaguer to play in Japan

1953 Birthday - Robyn Douglass, Sendai Japan, actress, Lonely Guy, Romantic Comedy

1953 Birthday - Yoko Shimada, Kumamota Japan, author, Kir Royal, actress, Shogun

1953 Event - 57th Boston Marathon won by Keizo Yamada of Japan in 2:18:51

1952 Event - U.S.S.R. declares peace treaty with Japan invalid

1952 Birthday - Chiaki Naito-Mukai, Tatebayashi Japan, astronaut, STS-65, sk:95

1952 Event - St. Louis Browns lend 2 black minor leaguers to Hankyu Braves of Japan

1952 Event - Final ratification of peace treaty restoring sovereignty to Japan

1952 Event - U.S. senate ratifies peace treaty with Japan

1951 Event - Lefty O'Doul's all-stars, including Joe DiMaggio and Billy Martin, lose 3-1 to Pacific League all-star team (Japan)

1951 Event - Japan signs peace treaty with 48 countries (SF)

1951 Event - 55th Boston Marathon won by Shigeki Tanaka of Japan in 2:27:45

1951 Birthday - Ayako Okamoto, born in Hiroshima, Japan, LPGA golfer, 1990 Sara Lee

1950 Birthday - Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Japan, actor, Lt A J Shimamura-Nash Bridges

1950 Event - Heavy typhoon strikes Japan, kills about 250

1950 Event - International Olympic Committee votes admission to West Germany and Japan in '52

1950 Event - West Germany and Japan readmitted to International Amateur Athletic Federation

1950 Event - ILTF re-admit Germany and Japan in Davis Cup, Poland and Hungary withdraws

1950 Birthday - Pamela Franklin, Tokyo, Japan, actress, Satan's School for Girls

1950 Birthday - Osamu Kido, born in Kawasaki City, Japan, professional wrestler for New Japan Pro Wrestling, participated founding the Japanese-based Universal Wrestling Federation

1948 Death - Hideki Tojo, Japan Prime Minister 1941 - 1944 and 6 Japs, hanged for war crimes at 64

1948 Death - Hiroshi "Can" Kikuchi, Japan (stage)writer (Tjitj kaeru), dies at 59

1948 Birthday - Mamoru Mohri, Yoichi-machi Hokkaido Japan, astronaut, STS-47

1948 Birthday - Takeshi Kitano, Tokyo, Japan, actor, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence

1947 Event - Japan forms a constitutional democracy

1946 Event - Earthquake in South Japan, kills 1,086

1946 Birthday - Sawao Kato, Japan, gymnast, Gold Medals 1968, 1972, 1976 Olympics

1946 Event - Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god

1945 Event - U.S. regains possession of Wake Island from Japan

1945 Event - V-J Day; formal surrender of Japan aboard USS Missouri (WW II ends)

1945 Event - Japan surrenders ending WW II (U.S. date, 9/2 in Japan)

1945 Event - General MacArthur lands in Japan

1945 Event - Hong Kong liberated from Japan

1945 Event - British liberate Hong Kong from Japan

1945 Event - General MacArthur named Supreme Commander of Allied Powers in Japan

1945 Event - U.S. troops land in Japan after Japanese surrender

1945 Event - Japanese diplomats board Missouri to receive instructions on Japan's surrender at the end of WW II

1945 Event - V-J Day; Japan surrenders unconditionally to end WW II

1945 Event - Allies refuse Japan's surrender offer to retain Emperor Hirohito

1945 Event - Japan announces willingness to surrender to Allies provided status of Emperor Hirohito remained unchanged

1945 Event - U.S. drops 2nd atomic bomb "Fat Man" on Japan destroys part of Nagasaki

1945 Event - U.S.S.R. declares war against Japan in WW II

1945 Event - Atom Bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Aug 6th in Japan)

1945 Event - Battleship USS South Dakota is 1st U.S. ship to bombard Japan

1945 Event - Kuniaki Koiso resigns as Prime Minister of Japan; replaced by Kantaro Suzuki

1945 Event - 800 killed as Kamikaze attacked USS Franklin off Japan

1945 Event - Japan declares Vietnam Independence

1945 Birthday - Victoria Principal, Fukuoka Japan, actress, Earthquake, Pamela-Dallas

1944 Event - Sub Swordfish departs Pearl Harbor for Japan

1944 Event - General Koiso becomes premier of Japan

1944 Event - In World War II, U.S. troops secure Saipan as Japan fell

1944 Event - U.S. bombs Kyushu Japan

1944 Event - 1st B-29 raid against mainland Japan

1944 Birthday - Isao Okano, Japan, middleweight judo 1964 Olympic gold

1943 Event - FDR, Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek meet to discuss ways to defeat Japan

1943 Event - Japan declares Philippine Independence (premier/president Jose Laurel)

1943 Event - Japan leaves Aleutian Islands

1943 Birthday - Yukio Kasaya, Japan, 70m ski jumper, Gold Medal 1972 Olympics

1943 Event - Japan declares Burma Independence under U Ba Maw

1943 Event - Trident conference in Washington D.C. (operation plan '43 against Japan)

1943 Event - Churchill pledges England's full support to U.S. against Japan

1943 Event - U.S. defeats Japan and wins Battle of Bismark Sea

1943 Event - Chile breaks contact with Germany and Japan

1942 Event - Japan bombs Port Darwin, Australia

1942 Birthday - Isao Aoki, Abiko Chiba Japan, PGA golfer, 1983 Hawaiian Open

1942 Event - Cuba declares war on Germany, Japan and Italy

1942 Event - Brazil declares war on Germany, Japan and Italy

1942 Birthday - Toyohiro Akiyama, born in Japan, cosmonaut, Soyuz TM-11

1942 Event - Battle of Midway ends: Admiral Nimitz wins 1st WW II naval defeat of Japan

1942 Event - Battle of Midway begins; Japan's 1st major defeat in WW II

1942 Event - Mexico declares war on nazi-Germany and Japan

1942 Event - Japan kills about 400 Filipino officers in Bataan

1942 Event - Japan forces Java to use "Tokyo time" 1 hour forward

1942 Event - Japan conquers Kuala Lumpur, Malaya

1942 Event - Japan invades North-Celebes, Netherlands Indies

1941 Event - Japan bombs Manila even though it was declared an "open city"

1941 Event - Japan announces surrender of British-Canadian garrison at Hong Kong

1941 Event - Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi/Kagu back in Kure, Japan

1941 Event - 1st ships of Admiral Nagumo's Pearl Harbor fleet return to Japan

1941 Event - Japan begins assault on Rangoon Burma

1941 Event - China declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy

1941 Event - London: Dutch government declares Japan the war

1941 Event - U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan, U.S. enters WW II

1941 Event - Chicago Daily Tribune editorialize there will not be war with Japan

1941 Event - Japan Tojo regime forms

1941 Birthday - Tadao Ando, born in Osaka, Japan, Japanese architect, employs critical regionalism style of architecture, 1969, established firm Tadao Ando Architects & Associates, winner, Pritzker Architecture Prize 1995

1941 Event - U.S. embargo on oil-export to Japan

1941 Event - Franklin D. Roosevelt bans selling benzine/gasoline to Japan

1941 Birthday - Takehide Nakatani, born in Japan, lightweight 1964 Olympic gold

1940 Event - Japan eliminates U.S. terms (strike, play ball) from baseball

1940 Birthday - Osamu Watanabe, Japan, featherweight 1964 Olympic gold

1940 Event - Nazi-Germany, Italy and Japan sign 10 year formal alliance (Axis)

1940 Birthday - Sadaharu, Ohio, of Yomiuri Giants, Japan, hit 868 career home run

1940 Event - Rear Admiral Joseph Taussig testifies before U.S. Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan is inevitable

1939 Birthday - Yoshinobu Miyake, Japan, featherweight, Gold Medals 1964, 1968 Olympics

1939 Birthday - Junko Tabei, Japan, 1st woman to climb Mount Everest

1938 Birthday - Liv Ullman, Tokyo, Japan, actress, Cries and Whispers, 40 Carats

1938 Event - League of Nations declares Japan the aggressor against China

1938 Birthday - Yuji Takahashi, born in Japan, composer, author, pianist, performer, grant recipient, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists

1938 Event - 1940 Olympic site changed from Tokyo Japan to Helsinki Finland

1938 Event - Finland awarded 1940 Olympic games after Japan withdraws

1938 Event - Japan declares war on China

1937 Event - Japanese aircraft shell and sink U.S. gunboat Panay on Yangtze River in China. (Japan apologized and eventually paid U.S. $2.2M in reparations)

1937 Event - Japan recognizes Franco government

1937 Event - China declares war on Japan

1936 Event - Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek declares war on Japan

1936 Event - Germany and Japan sign anti-Komintern pact

1936 Event - Nazi-Germany and Japan sign Anti-Komintern pact

1936 Event - Tokyo, Japan is awarded the 1940 Olympics, later cancelled

1936 Birthday - Maki Ishii, born in Tokyo, Japan, composer, contemporary classical music

1936 Event - 1st pro baseball game in Japan is played Nagoya defeats Daitokyo, 8-5

1936 Event - Military coup in Japan

1935 Event - Japan invades Shanghai China

1934 Event - Japan renounces Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and London Treaty of 1930

1934 Event - Yomiuri Giants, Japan's 1st professional baseball team forms

1934 Event - Japan agress to fleet treaty of 1922 and 1930

1934 Event - Eiji Sawamura, 17, gives up 1 hit, Lou Gehrig's home run, Japan beats U.S. 1-0

1934 Event - Babe Ruth tours Tokyo Japan

1934 Event - All-Star team led by Babe Ruth and Connie Mack sails to Hawaii and Japan

1934 Birthday - Michiko, empress of Japan

1934 Event - Typhoon strikes Honshu Island Japan, kills 4,000

1934 Event - Fire destroys Hakodate Japan (kills 1,500, injures 1,000)

1934 Event - Fire destroys Hakodate Japan, killing about 1,500

1934 Event - Japan sends Henry Pu Yi as regent to emperor of Manchuria

1933 Birthday - Akihito, emperor of Japan, 1989-

1933 Event - Japan begins persecution of communists

1933 Event - Japan leaves League of Nations

1933 Event - Most powerful earthquake in 180 years hit Japan

1933 Birthday - Yoko Ono, born in Tokyo, Japan, vocalist and artist

1933 Birthday - Akira Miyoshi, born in Suginami, Tokyo, composer, influenced by Henri Dutilleux, professor, Toho Gakuen School of Music, Japan

1932 Death - Ki Imukai, premier of Japan (1931-32), murdered

1932 Death - Ki Inukai, premier Japan (1931-32), murdered

1932 Event - Japan and China sign a peace treaty

1932 Birthday - Nagisa Oshima, born in Kyoto, Japan, director, Town of Love and Hope

1932 Event - Japan declares Manchuria Independent

1932 Event - Japan occupies Shanghai

1931 Event - Japan leaves the Golden Standard

1931 Event - Chuhei Numbu of Japan, sets then long jump record at 26' 2"

1931 Birthday - Hikaru Hayashi, born in Tokyo, Japan, composer, conductor, pianist, wrote more than 30 operas, over 100 film scores, authored more than 20 books

1931 Event - 1st nonstop transpacific flight, Japan to Washington (Herndon and Pangborn)

1931 Event - Peking (200,000 demonstrators demand declaration of war on Japan)

1931 Event - Japan takes Manchuria, renames it Manchukuo

1931 Birthday - Takashi Ono, Japan, gymnast, Gold Medals 1956, 1960 Olympics

1931 Birthday - Chiharu Igaya, Japan, slalom 1956 Olympics silver

1931 Event - 1st telecast of a sporting event in Japan (baseball)

1931 Birthday - Ken Takakura, Goichi Oda, Kita Japan, actor, Story of Antarctic

1931 Birthday - Toshiki Kaifu, premier of Japan, 1989-91

1930 Event - 690 earthquake shocks recorded in 1 day (Ito Japan)

1930 Birthday - Toru Takemitsu, Tokyo, Japan, composer, Ki No Kyoko

1930 Birthday - Ryohei Hirose, born in Hakodate, Japan, composer, professor, Kyoto University of Arts 1977 - 1996, composes music for shakuhachi, recorder, viola da gamba

1930 Event - U.S., Britain and Japan sign London Naval Treaty

1929 Birthday - Miyoshi Umeki, born in Japan, actress, Mrs Livingston-Courtship of Eddie's Father

1929 Birthday - Toshiro Mayuzumi, Yokohama Japan, composer, Sphenogramme

1928 Event - Hirohito ascended throne as Emperor of Japan

1928 Birthday - Dainin Katagiri, Osaka Japan, Zen teacher, associate of Shunryu Suzuki

1927 Event - Japan dedicates 1st subway in Orient (route under 2 miles long)

1927 Birthday - Hiroshi Yamauchi, Kyoto Japan, owner for the Seattle Mariners

1927 Event - Japan's Wakarsoeki government falls/Baron Tanaka becomes premier

1927 Event - Earthquake measuring 8 on Richter scale strikes Tango, Japan

1926 Event - Prince-regent Hirohito becomes emperor of Japan

1926 Event - Hirohito becomes emperor of Japan 1926-1989

1926 Death - Yoshihito, 123rd Emperor of Japan (1912-26), dies at 47

1925 Birthday - Leo Esaki, Esaki Reona, Japan, physicist, Tunnel effect-Nobel 1973

1925 Event - Japan's House of Representatives recognizes male suffrage

1925 Event - U.S.S.R. and Japan sign treaty of Peking, Seychelles back to U.S.S.R.

1925 Birthday - Yukio Mishima, Japan, novelist, Temple of Golden Pavilion

1924 Event - Kenchoji Rinzai temple in Kamakur Japan, heavily damaged by earthquake

1924 Birthday - Ikuma Dan, born in Tokyo, Japan, composer, graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, studied under famous opera composer Kosaku Yamada

1924 Birthday - Machiko Kyo, born in Osaka, Japan, actor, Gate of Hell, Rashomon, Ugetsu

1924 Birthday - Kobo Abe, born in Tokyo, Japan, playwright, Woman, the Dunes

1923 Event - Unsuccessful attempt on prince-regent Hirohito of Japan

1922 Birthday - Sadao Bekku, born in Tokyo, Japan, composer, classical music, wrote symphonies, film scores, sonata for flute, choral works, art songs, piano concerto, opera titled Prince Arima

1922 Event - U.S., U.K., France, Italy and Japan sign Washington naval arms limitation

1921 Event - U.S., France, Japan and British Empire sign a Pacific Treaty

1921 Death - Takasji Hara, premier of Japan, murdered

1921 Event - 16th Davis Cup: USA beats Japan in New York (5-0)

1921 Birthday - Kan Ishii, born in Tokyo, Japan, composer, famous for Symphonia Ainu, inspired by national primitivism, wrote orchestral and vocal music for film and stage, including music for science-fiction film Gorath

1921 Birthday - Akio Morita, Kasugaya Japan, CEO, Sony

1920 Event - Japan receives League of Nations mandate over Pacific islands

1919 Birthday - Masao Takemoto, Japan, gymnast 1960 Olympics gold

1919 Birthday - Akeo Watanabe, born in Tokyo, Japan, conductor, Nippon Philharmonic Orchestra 1956 - 1968

1919 Event - Demonstrations for Korean independence from Japan begin

1918 Birthday - Yasuhiro Nakasone, premier of Japan, 1982-87

1917 Event - Lansing-Ishii Agreement; U.S. recognizes Japan's privileges in China

1917 Birthday - Joan Fontaine, Tokyo, Japan, actress, Gunga Din, Ivanhoe, Rebecca

1917 Birthday - Kusuo Kitamura, Japan, 1500m freestyle swimmer 1932 Olympics gold

1917 Event - AP reports Mexico and Japan will allie with Germany if U.S. enters WW I

1916 Birthday - Olivia de Havilland, born in Tokyo, Japan, actress, Adventures of Robin Hood

1915 Birthday - Kon Ichikawa, Japan, director, Matatabi, Money Talks

1915 Birthday - Yul Brynner, born in Sakhalin Island, Japan, actor, King and I, 10 Commandments

1915 Event - Japan claims economic control of China

1914 Birthday - Taisen Deshimaru, Saga City Japan, found several Zen centers in France

1914 Event - Japan attack German concession on Chinese peninsula of Shanghai

1914 Event - Japan declares war on Germany in World War I

1914 Event - Japan joins side of allies

1912 Event - "Kiche Maru" sinks off Japan, killing 1,000

1912 Death - Mutsuhito, 122nd emperor of Japan (1867-1912), dies at 60

1910 Event - Japan annexes Korea after 5 years as a protectorate

1910 Birthday - Akira Kurosawa, born in Tokyo, Japan, director, 7 Samurai, Living

1909 Death - Horiboemi Ito, Prince of Japan, assassinated by a Korean

1909 Birthday - Osamu Dazai, born in Japan, novelist, Tsugaru, No Longer Human

1908 Birthday - Kinue Hitoma, Japan, 800m runner, Silver Medal 1928 Olympics

1907 Birthday - Hediki Yukawa, Japan, physicist, Nobel 1949

1906 Birthday - Soichiro Honda, Japan, founder/CEO, Honda Motor Co

1905 Birthday - Mikio Oda, Japan, triple jumper, 1928 Olympics gold

1904 Event - Japan and Russia declares war after Japan's surprise attack on Russian fleet at Port Arthur disabled 7 Russian warships

1904 Event - Japan declares war on Russia

1902 Birthday - Jeno Takacs, born in Cinfalva, Hungary, composer, studied with Joseph Marx, Paul Weigarten, professor of piano, composition at University of Manila in the Philippines, gave concerts in China, Japan, Hong Kong

1901 Birthday - Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, 1926-89

1901 Birthday - Eisaku Sato, premier of Japan, Nobel 1974

1899 Birthday - Yasonari Kawabata, Japan, novelist, Thousand Cranes

1897 Event - Japan adopts Gold Standard

1896 Birthday - Nobusuke Kishi, premier of Japan, 1957-60

1896 Event - Tsunami strikes Shinto festival on beach at Sanriku Japan 27,000 are killed, 9,000 injured, with 13,000 houses destroyed

1895 Event - China cedes Taiwan to Japan under Treaty of Shimonoseki

1894 Birthday - Yoshida Isoya, Tokyo, Japan, architect, modern sukiya style

1894 Event - Japan defeats China in Battle of Ping Yang

1894 Event - Treaty of Aoki-Kimberley signed between Japan and England

1893 Event - Commodore Perry arrives in Japan

1893 Event - Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar

1892 Birthday - Ryunosuke Akutagawa, born in Japan, writer, Rashomon in Kappa

1891 Event - Quake strikes Mino-Owari, Japan kills 7,300

1890 Event - Turkish frigate "Ertogrul" burns off of Japan, kills 540

1890 Birthday - Sessue Hayakawa, born in Japan, actor, Bridge on River Kwai, Hell to Eternity

1889 Event - Meiji constitution of Japan adopted; 1st Diet convenes in 1890

1888 Event - Bandai volcano (Japan) erupts for 1st time in 1,000 years

1888 Birthday - Tojohiko Kagawa, Japan, Christian-social reformer, Grain of Wheat

1888 Birthday - Toyohiko Kagawa, born in Kobe, Japan, Christian social reformer

1886 Birthday - Teiichi Igarashi, Japan, climed Mount Fuji at age 99

1886 Birthday - Junichiro Tanizaki, Japan, writer, Snow Dusting

1883 Birthday - Shiga Naoya, Japan, novelist, Road Through Dark Night

1879 Birthday - Joshihito, emperor of Japan, 1912-26

1878 Birthday - Akiko Yosano, Japan, poet, Tangled Hair

1876 Event - Tsunami's after earthquake floods NE coast of Japan, kills 28,000

1870 Birthday - D T Suzuki, Kanazawa Japan, Zen Buddhist scholar

1869 Event - Baptist minister invents rickshaw in Yokohama, Japan

1869 Birthday - Ozaki Koyo, Japan, novelist/essayist/haiku poet, The Heart

1868 Event - Meiji Restoration returns authority to Japan's emperors

1867 Event - 15th and last Tokugawa Shogun resigns in Japan

1867 Birthday - Masaoka Shiki, Japan, haiku and tanka poet/diarist, Salt Water Ballads

1867 Event - Prince Mutsuhito, 14, becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan (1867-1912)

1864 Event - British, French and Dutch fleets attacked Japan in Shimonoseki Straits

1858 Event - Netherlands and Japan sign trade agreement

1858 Event - 1st commercial treaty between U.S. and Japan signed

1858 Event - U.S. citizens allowed to live anywhere in Japan

1854 Event - Treaty of Kanagawa: Commodore Perry forces Japan to opens ports to U.S.

1854 Event - U.S. Commodore Matthew C. Perry's 2nd trip to Japan

1853 Event - Russian fleet appears at Nagasaki, Japan

1853 Event - Commodore Perry requests trade relations with Japan

1853 Event - Admiral Perry and U.S. Navy visit Japan

1853 Event - Commodore Matthew Perry reach Japan

1852 Birthday - Mutsuhito, 122nd emperor of Japan, 1867-1912

1847 Birthday - Heihatjiro Tojo, Japan, Admiral, Russian-Japanese war

1846 Event - Japan invents the rickshaw

1828 Event - 6.8 earthquake strikes Echigo Japan, 30,000 killed

1804 Birthday - Townsend Harris, 1st Western consul to reside in Japan

1794 Birthday - Matthew Calbraith Perry, Commodore, opened Japan

1793 Event - Volcano Unsen on Japan erupts killing about 53,000

1769 Death - Hakuin Ekaku, Zen teacher (reformer of Rinzai school), dies in Japan

1689 Event - Matsuo Basho, zen poet, leaves for 150 days journey on Honshu Japan

1686 Birthday - Hakuin Ekakuborn, Japan, Zen Buddhist

1637 Birthday - Toyotomi Hideyoshi, unified Japan

1600 Event - Battle of Sekigahara sets Tokugawa clan as Japan's rulers (shoguns)

1549 Event - Portuguese missionaries Franciscus Xaverius lands in Kagoshima Japan

1506 Death - Sesshu Toyo, Zen monk/painter, dies in Yamaguchi Japan at 86

1506 Birthday - Francis Xavier, saint and Jesuit missionary to India, Malaya, and Japan

1481 Death - Ikkyu Sojun, Zen head of Daitokuji temple, dies in Kyoto, Japan at 87

1476 Birthday - Kano Motonobu, Kyoto Japan, co-founder, Kano school of painting

1382 Death - Daigaku, Zen teacher/46th head of Engakuji, dies in Kamakura Japan

1351 Death - Muso Soseki, Zen teacher/Rinzai line/head of Nanzenji, dies in Japan

1337 Death - Daito Kokushi, leader of O-To-Kan Rinzai school in Japan, dies at 54

1327 Birthday - Bassui Tokusho, Zen founder, Kogakuji monastery in Nakamura Japan

1293 Event - Earthquake strikes Kamakura Japan, 30,000 killed

1281 Event - Kublai Khans invading fleet disappears in typhoon near Japan

1280 Event - Sogen Mugaku, founder of Engakuji temple arrives in Japan from China

1278 Death - Daikaku, Zen teacher Rinzai line/head of Kenchoji, dies in Japan at 65

1262 Death - Shinran, founder of Japan's True Pure Land Buddhist sect, dies

1222 Birthday - Nichiren, Japan, Buddhist priest and saint

1200 Birthday - Dogen Kigen, Japan, Zen teacher, 1st patriarch of the Japanese Soto

1185 Death - Antoku Taira, emperor of Japan (1180-85), drowns

1129 Death - Shirakawa, emperor of Japan (1072-86)/budhist monk, dies at 76













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